Some celebrities – such as former England footballer John Barnes, Waterloo Road actress Angela Griffin and comedienne Jo Brand – have lent their services more than once, meaning they were paid several times from the public purse.

Fees: Jo Brand promotes reading in a TV advertising campaign

Last night, the DCSF refused to reveal how much each celebrity was paid because of ‘commercial sensitivity’. It also said it was unable to reveal which stars carried out their work for free or asked for their fees to be donated to charity.

However, a Freedom of Information request by The Mail on Sunday has found £325,556 was paid to well-known figures between February 2008 and December 2009.

It means many of the celebrities could have made thousands of pounds from their work providing voiceovers, taking part in photoshoots and making public appearances.

The four comedians who fronted the DCSF’s Alcohol, It’s No Joke campaign in December – Bill Bailey, Jo Brand, Russell Kane and Josie Long – received a total of £24,000, or an average of £6,000 each, to cover ‘scriptwriting and expenses’.

David Laws, Liberal Democrat schools and children’s spokesman, attacked the fees as ‘highly questionable’, adding: ‘All contracts paying celebrities to promote Government initiatives should contain a clause making it clear that the fee will be made public.’

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Barnes said that he ‘knew nothing’ about the payments.